5.7 Regulations for the General Degree of International Bachelor of Business Administration (i.B.B.A.)

5.7.1 General Regulations

The International Bachelor of Business Administration (i.B.B.A.) program requires a total of 120 credit hours with a minimum average of 65% on those 120 credit hours.

In this program, students are expected to gain knowledge of and to experience the cultural and business environment of a global region other than their home, or primary region. In order to achieve this bi-cultural knowledge and experience, students must nominate a second global region on which to focus in their program. The choice of the second region will affect the choice of courses to meet the Bi-Cultural Global and Regional Content and the Cross-Cultural Study Experience requirements.

Normally, admission is offered for the Fall Semester. The deadline for admission or readmission is March 1. Students applying for admission to the i.B.B.A. must submit the Faculty of Business Administration Application For Admission to the Office of the Registrar on or before this deadline. Where circumstances permit, applications will be considered for the Winter and Spring Semesters. The deadlines for admission or readmission are specified in the University Diary.

Students who are seeking admission for the Fall Semester normally must have completed all the courses required for admission by the end of the Winter Semester.

Applications received after the deadline will be considered only if a space is available in the program.

To be eligible for Admission to the i.B.B.A. program an applicant must have successfully completed the Pre-i.B.B.A. program (see The Curriculum, clause 1, below) with an average on those courses of at least 65%, or the equivalent at another recognized post-secondary institution. Students who are transferring from other universities must apply for admission to the University on or before the deadlines specified in the University Diary for the semester in which they intend to begin their program, to allow sufficient time for the evaluation of transfer credits.

Admission is competitive and selective. Therefore, prospective students are encouraged to consider an alternate degree program in the event that they are not accepted into the International Bachelor of Business Administration program.

The primary criterion used in reaching decisions on applications for admission is overall academic achievement. Selection, therefore, will be based on a student's overall academic performance in addition to the average on the 30 credit hours required for admission. Students with weak overall academic records are unlikely to be admitted.

In the case where an applicant has been required to withdraw from one of the Faculty's other Undergraduate programs, the Admissions Committee of the Faculty may consider this circumstance as grounds to deny admission.

5.7.3 The Curriculum

The i.B.B.A. program includes the following 30 credit hours that comprise the Pre-i.B.B.A. program:

Nine additional credit hours in non-BUSI courses. It is strongly recommended that students take into account the Bi-Cultural Global and Regional Content requirement outlined below when choosing these additional 9 credit hours of study.

In addition to the Pre-i.B.B.A. program requirements, the curriculum shall consist of the successful completion of:

any three from: BUSI 6311, BUSI 7005 (if not completed to fulfill 2.a.i above), BUSI 7240, BUSI 6550 (if not completed to fulfill 2.b.i. above), BUSI 6040, Economics 4030, or Political Science 3250 or any other approved course with an international focus.

Pre-requisites for all courses shall apply to the i.B.B.A. program. Students should note, for example, that the pre-requisites for BUSI 7000 include BUSI 4050 and BUSI 5301, which are not program requirements for the i.B.B.A.

It is recommended that students choose their elective courses so that their overall program contains at least one group of four or five courses within a chosen functional area or specialization or minor.

For graduation, a student must be enrolled in the i.B.B.A. program, and have completed the 120 credit hours required with a minimum average of 65% on those 120 credit hours.

5.7.4 Bi-Cultural Global and Regional Content

Courses chosen to meet the above requirements must have coherent, bi-cultural, global and regional content as outlined in Regulations for the General Degree of International Bachelor of Business Administration (i.B.B.A.), General Regulations. The choice of regions will affect the choice of non-BUSI elective courses as well as the choice of location and content of the cross-cultural study experience. Students must consult with the Undergraduate Programs Office of the Faculty of Business Administration when selecting courses to satisfy the bi-cultural global and regional content requirement to ensure that the selected courses will fulfill the requirement.

5.7.4.1 Non-business Elective Courses

Students must complete a minimum of 21 credit hours of non-business elective courses with coherent, bi-cultural, global and/or regional content. These courses must include:

at least 6 credit hours with a specific regional perspective of the student’s home, or primary region;

at least 6 credit hours with a specific regional perspective of the student’s second global region. The study of a regional language may be used to meet this requirement; and

students planning to undertake their cross-cultural study experience where English is not the main language must complete 6 credit hours of study of the relevant language prior to undertaking the cross-cultural study experience.

5.7.4.2 Cross-Cultural Study Experience

The cross-cultural study experience provides an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the culture, business environment, and language of their second global region in the context of the skills gained in the i.B.B.A. program. Students must submit a rationale in support of their choice of a location for their cross-cultural study experience. The rationale should indicate:

how the location supports the chosen second region;

how the location uses and builds on prior coursework and prior education, employment, and personal experiences; and

the courses to be completed on the cross-cultural study experience.

The Cross-Cultural Study Experience must be approved by the Undergraduate Programs Office before it can begin.

To ensure that students obtain regional perspectives and skills different from those to which they were exposed in their previous education, an approved cross-cultural study experience must include:

at least 9 credit hours with specific regional content;

at foreign language locations, at least 3 of the 9 credit hours above must be study of a regional language; and

at locations where English is the main language, at least 3 of the 9 credit hours identified above must normally be in non-business electives.

Notwithstanding the General Regulations above and the Continuance Regulations below, a student may be held back from participating in the Cross-Cultural Study Experience if the student has not completed at least ten courses since admission to the i.B.B.A. program or has not completed a course load of 15 credit hours with a semester average of at least 65% in a single semester. A student who is prevented from starting the Cross-Cultural Study Experience for either of these reasons will be permitted to participate in the Cross-Cultural Study Experience once the student has met these criteria.

Students must normally have completed at least 72 credit hours of the program prior to commencement of the Cross-Cultural Study Experience.

Students should note that graduation may be delayed if they commence the Cross-Cultural Study Experience in the final semester of their program because of delays in receiving official transcripts from partner institutions.

Students must successfully complete either at least 12 credit hours in a single semester, or at least 9 credit hours in each of three semesters, while on the cross-cultural study experience.

For the Cross-Cultural Study Experience, courses regarded as having specific regional content would include languages, regional studies and other cross-cultural courses as well as approved courses in Economics and Business.

5.7.5 Minor From Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

A student enrolled in the i.B.B.A. program may both meet the requirements of the degree and be able to complete a minor within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Regulations for the minor are given under the Calendar entries for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

5.7.6 Continuance Regulations

The Faculty Council of the Faculty of Business Administration constitutes the examining body for all examinations in Business courses. In addition, the standing of every student will be assessed by the Committee on Undergraduate Studies in accordance with the continuation requirements outlined in 2. and 3. below.

Following entry to the program, i.B.B.A. students must qualify for continuation after each term of study. For continuation, students must have an overall average of 65% over their last ten courses taken. In the event that a student has more courses than needed in the earliest term used, the courses with the highest grades in that term will be used.

Students who fail to achieve these standards will be required to withdraw from the program. They may be considered for readmission after a lapse of two semesters. In order to be considered for readmission, students must formally apply for readmission.

A required withdrawal for failure to meet Continuance Regulations in the i.B.B.A. program will be reflected on a student’s transcript.

Students who are required to withdraw from the program a second time are not eligible for readmission into their program.

The Committee on Undergraduate Studies of the Faculty of Business Administration may allow a student to continue who fails to achieve the standards outlined in 2. above. A decision of this nature will be made only for reasons acceptable to the Committee on Undergraduate Studies.